Stills from Return of Sergeant Lapins(Written by Smrti Krishnanunni)
While Nicolas III, King of the Belgians, is on an official visit to Istanbul, news arrives that Wallonia has declared independence, so Belgium does not exist anymore. The king decides to return home quickly, but all flights are blocked, and he therefore attempts to reach Belgium overland with his staff. Their journey forms the plot of the award-winning mockumentary, King of the Belgians (2016), that will open the 24th edition of the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) on June 28. Organised by the Delegation of the European Union (EU) and embassies of EU Member States in partnership with Instituto Cervantes and Habitat Film Club, the festival will showcase award-winning films from 22 countries.
“EU has always sought closer contact with countries outside of Europe, and what can be a better way to reach the minds and hearts of people than films that showcase what we are all about. European cinema has changed tremendously in the past two decades. Language, topics, ethos, emotions, and images have changed. We are intent on showing more than just films, inviting European film directors and ambassadors to speak to the audience — to really have a cultural exchange, between artists, officials and audience, and to entertain,” says Raimund Megis, Chargé d’Affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to India.
Stills from Me and KaminskiFrom Bulgaria, the festival will screen the movie Bubblegum (2017). It is a tribute to the generation of kids who grew up in the country during the ’80s, and spent their time collecting stickers from chewing gums and playing outdoor games. From Greece, the movie Little England is travelling. Set in the Greek island of Andros in the 20th century, it is an epic tale of lost love and the bond between sisters, who belong to the Saltaferos family. The Lithuanian film Ashes in the Snow is set in 1941 and revolves around a 16-year-old aspiring artist and her family who are deported to Siberia after Stalin’s brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. In the Dutch film Tulipani: Love, Honour and a Bicycle, a romantic farmer is tired of getting his socks wet after losing his farm during the floods of 1953. He cycles to Italy and decides to grow tulips in the sweltering heat of Puglia.
Stills from HopeThe 10-day event will also showcase critically acclaimed movies such as the 2014 French drama Hope, 2015 Swedish political drama Drifters and 2018 Italian drama Drive Me Home, among others. Apart from Delhi and Chennai, the festival will also travel to Goa, Pune, Puducherry, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Kozhikode.
The festival will be held in two venues, India Habitat Centre and Instituto Cervantes, from June 28 to July 7
